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VERO BEACH — Selling the former Dodgertown Golf Course is in the best interest of the city, even if the city sells it at a loss, finance commissioners decided Monday.

The advisory board will recommend the City Council approve the sale next month. Only Victor DeMattia opposed.

The city has been offered $2.7 million for the 35-acre parcel — a $7.2 million loss from what the city bought the property for in 2005. The city borrowed $9.9 million in 2005 to buy the property and pays $600,000 on the loan annually from its share of the countywide 1 percent sales tax. The city still owes about $6.1 million with 10 more years still to pay, said Finance Commission Chairman Glen Brovont.

Patrick Murphy, founding partner of Murphy-Garlinge & Associates of Palm Beach Gardens, wants to build 280 homes on the property. City Council is scheduled to consider the offer at its March 7 meeting, but Councilman Dick Winger asked Monday to postpone the issue until the first week of April.

City Manager Jim O'Connor told commissioners the city hoped to get a price closer to the $3.5 million appraisal, the most recent valuation of the property. The current market in that area, however, make it unlikely the city will get a higher offer, he said. Previous bids for the property have come in substantially lower, he said.

If the city accepts the offer, the city's loan payment would drop to about $300,000 a year through 2025, O'Connor said.

The city put the property on the market in May after declaring it surplus. The city bought the property for green space. At the time, there was concern about a large development planned nearby at Dodger Pines Golf Club, but that never materialized.

Former City Councilman Randy Old, now a member of the Finance Commission, expressed concern the city is selling the property for a quarter of what it paid.

"Are we just dumping it?" Old said.

Brovont said the market is unlikely to improve, especially as air traffic at the Vero Beach Regional Airport increases. The city is unlikely to get a higher offer, he said.